Ignorance is bliss
by LaVasKa La
Summary: My mother always used to say, that if you do something unjustified to another person, Karma will get you. Oh, Karma has bitten me many times before, just never this hard. "Congratulations, Its a girl!" Naruto Self-insert No Pairings. Rating will rise to T as the story advances.
1. Karma

Have you ever wondered what happens to us, and where we go, after we die?

To most people, it's alarming to think that after death there simply is no more.

Some people accept it and some people just don't want to acknowledge the truth, that after death, you simply do not exist anymore.

But is it really the truth?

My mother always used to tell me, that we humans are all connected to each other and that's the reason something bad always happens to you, if you have done something unjustified to another person.

I only really listened to her with one ear, because she used to talk about spiritual things a lot. She was by no means, a religious person, but she believed in reincarnation, souls, a higher power (that wasn't god) and stuff like that.

Well, I wish now more than ever I had listened to her more often.

Why?

Because I'm pretty sure I kind of died and I'm also pretty sure it's because I abandoned a dying man, in my panic, to choke on his own blood instead of calling for help.

.

.

.

a real shocker, huh?

I can almost hear the sarcastic voice in my head that says: _Karma, bitch._

And what's even more confusing, is that I have no idea _how_ I died.

Yeah, that's right.

I don't even remember how I stumbled upon him.

Nor do I remember any of the events that must have occurred after that.

Hell, I hardly remember anything from that day.

All I know is that I only really have two options left:

1 – For some reason I'm in a coma, which I really doubt. (But then again it could be possible considering I really don't remember much about that day.)

or

2 – I really died.

.

.

.

Dead

Gone

Not in this world anymore

No longer alive

Just _Dead_

.

.

.

I'm not in shock

Shut up

.

.

Well, anyways

It took some time to really accept that I could not escape the truth.

I had truly, somehow, died for real.

Which brings forth another good question.

If I'm dead, then how am I still thinking?

This was just one of the things, that made me think:

_Hey, If you're still speaking to yourself, then you must still be alive. Dead people don't speak. Dead people can't think. They're just dead._

And then there was a small 'No shit, Sherlock' moment.

Once again, regretfully, I wasn't sure If I had really died.

And man did it piss me off.

I had no idea where I was now.

All I knew, was that the place where I was right now was warm, safe, dark and disturbingly enough, wet.

You heard me

_Wet_

I was pretty sure I was losing my mind, just floating in the darkness with only my own thoughts there to occupy me.

That is until one day (cliché I know) I started hearing voices.

Like, ALL AROUND ME _NONSTOP_.

I heard something akin to water flowing (although it sounded heavier),

Incoherent mumbling,

Sometimes I would hear other incoherent sounds, but they didn't sound like some one would be talking.

They just were there.

And the most annoying of them all was the heartbeat.

At first I thought it was mine.

But then I started doubting that theory.

It was _way_ too loud to be my own._  
_

It sounded like those heartbeat sounds you hear in a horror movie.

You know, the ones that keep on getting louder and louder with each step, as the person becomes more terrified?

Take that and put the volume as high as it goes and just repeat it over and over and over...

I think I miss the silence.

**BUTUMBOTOM**

Definitely miss the silence.

At some point, much to my relief, I could feel and move my toes and fingers.

Did this mean I wasn't dead?

This thought put so much excitement into me that I accidentally kicked my leg outwards and was horrified to find some kind of thick wall there.

In fact, these walls were all around me.

But the panic didn't last long because I honestly, for some reason, felt safe here.

At some point I could smell food.

And it was also at this point in which I decided I wasn't dead, but in a coma.

Because how could I otherwise do all these things?

I was obviously waking from my coma.

.

.

.

Right?

When I realized I could move, I started squirming.

a lot.

And this was also the day when I realized I wasn't alone in this dark miserable place.

There was somebody else here, right next to me.

and it was _moving_ with me.

HOW THE HELL DID I NOT NOTICE THAT EARLIER.

I MEAN FOR FUCKS SAKE I SHOULD HAVE NOTICED SOMETHING.

The panic that I felt that moment did not compare to the panic I felt when I felt the _thing_ grab me.

It was a relatively weak grasp to my lower arm, but it still freaked me out.

_AWAYAWAYGOAWAYIWANTOUTOFHEREI– _

_I WANT OUT OF HERE!_

**NOW!**

Right then, in that moment I started squirming away from the _thing_ in the opposite direction as much as I could.

The next thing I know I'm somehow being sucked away–

Don't look at me like that

I don't know how to explain it properly.

I felt hands grabbing me (although these hands were a lot bigger then the _things_) and then I saw light.

Being so long in the darkness made me close my eyes and I felt cold.

I could weakly hear someone talking and then I felt someone wrap something around me.

I wasn't complaining.

At least I wasn't cold anymore.

Although I was confused.

How could someone carry me so easily?

Last time I checked you could not carry a 16 year old girl who weights 54 kg (119 pounds) in the crook of your arm.

I felt someone clean my body from the fluids I had been floating in for god knows how long.

I could hear a lot better once the person had cleaned the insides of my ears.

I felt the person shift me to much firmer and warmer arms and once again, I felt safe, I opened my eyes.

I wish I hadn't.

The safeness that I had felt, disappeared into thin air, like it had never existed in the first place.

Because I was staring into the face of a complete stranger.

"Congratulations! It's a girl!"

.

.

.

What?

I did the only thing I could in that moment.

I wailed.

Loud.

* * *

**Yes, this is going to be a Naruto Self-insert. Fuck me sideways. I don't care. I wanted to write one, so here we go. The beginning. I can not promise you this will not be Mary sue in your eyes.** **But I can promise you that I will try to make this as realistic as possible. Can any of you guess what family she was born into? **


	2. Doubts Lead To More Doubts

No way, there is just no way.

Nope.

I don't believe it.

I don't

No.

.

.

.

It didn't take me long at all to understand who was holding me in his arms.

Flipping Fugaku Uchiha.

The Leader of the Uchiha clan,

The mastermind behind the Uchiha coup d'etat,

Father of Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha,

Husband of Mikoto Uchiha.

a Character from Naruto.

My brain just shut down.

The only thing I could hear was the nurse talking to somebody in an urgent voice and my own wails.

Which were getting annoying.

But apparently crying and shouting means the newborn is healthy.

Something about breathing or something stupid like that...

Which brings me to the next brain grating question:

.

.

.

WHY THE HELL AM I A NEWBORN!?

THIS SITUATION IS ABSOLUTELY ILLOGICAL AND I AM PROBABLY LYING IN A BED SOMEWHERE, SUFFERING FROM BRAIN DAMAGE.

THAT IS THE ONLY LOGICAL SOLUTION.

.

.

Excuse me, I needed to get that out of my system.

"Uchiha-sama, are you alright?"

I tried to lift my head to see what was going on, but my head wouldn't even budge.

It felt like somebody had thrown my head away, just to switch it with a heavy boulder.

That is how heavy my head feels just this moment.

Why can't newborns have proper muscles?

Dam you mother nature.

I, however, did not get to wallow in my self-pity for long as Fugaku or 'father' turned his body just enough for me to see Mikoto, lying on the bed, covered in sweat from the birth.

Did you notice my sarcasm ?

You better have, I put a lot of effort in it.

There is no way I'm going to take the idea of having an imaginary character as my father seriously.

At least not for a while.

That is just too much to ask.

Seriously, I'm still coming to terms with this whole mess.

Anyway, I finally stopped wailing and started to look around.

Well, I wouldn't exactly call it looking around when I can only see about 15 cm (6 inches) into every direction.

If I try to look further it just look blurry.

I can't even turn my head.

It's rather frustrating.

FOCUS.

right, Mikoto.

She looked rather tired and–

"There is another baby coming!"

.

.

.

Say what?

"Mikoto-sama! Its a twin brother!"

Soon enough another baby's wails pierced through the air.

I soon followed my 'brother' in the wails.

DAM!

And I just stopped too!

There is just no winning, is there?

As soon as the nurse had cleaned my apparent brother, she wrapped him in a towel too right before asking:

"Uchiha-sama, what will you name them?"

My mother–

Might as well start calling her that.

–tiredly lifted her gaze to me and said in a soft voice:

"Megumi, her name is Megumi."

Fugaku just nodded and held me a little tighter while looking at me.

"Megumi it is."

I, on the other hand, wasn't so sure what I felt about changing my name, that I had used my whole life, to a new one.

Megumi?

What the hell does that even mean?

"The boy, Uchiha-sama?"

This time it was my father who answered her.

"Itachi"

.

.

.

What

.

.

I don't–

What?!

I'm pretty sure, that if I was still in my old body, I would have fainted for the first time in my entire life.

But since that is not a possibility now.

I just wailed.

That seems to be the answer to everything apparently.

My father handed me to my mother as she took me into her arms and smiled at me.

"Megumi-chan, Welcome to the world."

and she kissed my forehead.

My wails stopped as I felt that same feeling of safeness, that I had felt before being born.

I was safe.

_She_ was safe.

And the moment was soon ruined by the fact that I needed nutrition.

And where do babies get that?

.

.

.

I'm starting to understand why we don't have any memories from being newborns.

It's rather traumatizing.

I suddenly felt tired.

I didn't want to sleep...

My adult mind was fighting my newborn needs.

I soon realized this was one fight, I couldn't win and I succumbed to sleep.

Twin sister of Itachi, huh?

I bet the Gods are laughing at me right now.

**/\/\/\/\/**

Did you know, that newborns sleep almost all day?

Except when they need to be tended to.

And man is it boring.

I mean

Sure I was lazy in my other life, but at least there I knew I could do something else if I got bored of something.

Here?

No such luck.

Don't get me wrong.

I always liked 'just being' and sleeping, but this is ridiculous.

It's horrible when you need to go to the bathroom, only to realize you can't.

And all you can do is wail and wait for someone to come and clean you up after you just pooped in your diaper.

This happens about 6 times a day.

And I thought the nutrition part was bad.

Much to my chagrin, I didn't get to see the Uchiha compound.

I was slowly coming terms with my situation.

I was apparently The firstborn child of Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha.

The older sibling of Itachi Uchiha by a couple minutes.

Yeah

Can't say I didn't panic, when I was finally alert enough to go through that all in my mind.

Speaking of Itachi.

Apparently we share the same room and our cribs are relatively close to each other.

All I have to do, is roll over to my side and I can see him from between the wooden bars that keep me from falling.

When Mikoto (forget what I said, I'm not ready to call her my mother yet) comes and tends to us, she sees two innocent babies who have a whole life ahead of them.

When I look at us, I see a teenage girl, who chose not to help a dying person and was instantly punished for it and a baby boy, who unwillingly grows up to be a huge martyr.

The whole story of the Uchiha clan is so tragic, that quite honestly, I don't want to get involved.

And every time I think that way

I realize what a bastard I am.

I'm not a strong person.

I succumbed to depression, when I was twelve, just because a couple friends left me.

Pathetic, huh?

And it took me a year to recover too.

.

.

.

I'm the heir of the Uchiha clan now.

Just because I was born a couple minutes before Itachi.

Inconvenient, huh?

I probably screwed up the plot line already.

I changed everything.

Just because I was born.

And I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about that.

* * *

**The chapters will get longer as the story advances. But I need reviews to tell me whether you like it or not.**


	3. Family

Alright.

It has been a couple weeks now.

Only a few weeks and I'm already forced to rethink everything, I thought I had known about the Uchiha clan.

Well

Maybe not everything.

Just most of the things I thought I had known.

First off.

Isn't the stereotypical Uchiha something akin to a bastard?

I mean, doesn't it go something along these lines:

Uchihas are antisocial and scowl, if you even try to look at them?

If this is what the whole world thinks.

Then I'm going to have to prove you wrong.

No, seriously.

I thought the stereotype was right.

I mean, Fugaku didn't even smile, when I was born.

He didn't show any emotion on his face that day.

To me, it seemed like he just wanted it to be over with.

Like he was forced to be there.

For some reason, that thought hurt a lot.

Because in these couple weeks.

He has shown more emotion on his face here, than in the entire screen time he had in Naruto.

He tends to us, when Mikoto is too busy with with other things.

He _smiles _at us, when he thinks no one can see him.

Actually smiles at us.

He has this caring and protective aura around him when he is near us.

How come I didn't notice this in the hospital, you say?

That's because he hid it so well.

Turns out, that Uchihas don't really have that many medics in their clan.

So, Mikoto gave birth to me in a local Konoha hospital.

And the nurse, that helped to bring us into this world.

Wasn't an Uchiha.

So apparently, showing emotion to a non-Uchiha is a big no no.

But showing it to your family.

That's another story.

I'm in shock really.

This was not what I had been expecting.

I had expected him to treat us as burdens, until we were strong enough to be of use to this clan.

But then again.

We didn't really know what kind of personality he had when Itachi was younger.

We only saw the bastard who ruined everything.

It's sad how happy he seems compared to that version of him.

Well as happy as a person in the middle of a war can be.

Forgot to mention that, didn't I?

Yeah, apparently Itachi and I were born at the very end of the Third Shinobi World War.

Mikoto and Fugaku would sometimes switch places, on who would be on the battlefield and who would take care of us.

But to me, one thing was clear.

Someone _had_ to be with us at _all_ times.

Because apparently our existence isn't a well kept secret.

And assassins weren't unheard of.

When I first heard this.

I panicked so hard, It's not even funny.

And if both of them were on the battlefield, then another Uchiha would be sent to take care of us.

Assassins weren't unheard of, but they were rare in Konoha.

So apparently one talented Uchiha was enough to keep us safe.

One of the reasons why assassins were so rare, was the Uchiha clan.

We're scary like that.

Not to mention, that nobody wants to face an angry Uchiha on the battlefield.

Nobody.

I also thought a bit about the future.

Obito died in this war, didn't he?

And considering I'm a baby, not even a toddler yet, there isn't much I can do to stop that.

Which sucks by the way.

How do I know he isn't dead yet?

he could be.

Well, I think I know he's dead, when I hear the uproar in the clan, when they realize Obito gave a sharingan to an outsider.

Unless Kakashi somehow conveniently hides it.

Which he probably will.

Why am I even thinking about this?

It's too late to stop it from happening anyway.

I should really just focus on my dilemma.

I'm older than Itachi.

I'm the heir.

Whatever that means.

Does that mean I'm supposed to bear the weight of this all, instead of Itachi?

I sure as hell hope not.

I'm not ready for that kind of burden.

But then again.

They're not really going to be asking my opinion at all, are they?

All they know, is that I was born first.

Why was I born first?

Is this my punishment?

It can't be.

Shinobi hurt people.

Shinobi _kill_ people.

.

.

.

And for some reason that doesn't bother me as much as it should.

Does it make me a bad person?

Or an ideal ninja?

I don't know.

Itachi was an ideal ninja, but he avoided unnecessary conflicts.

In the words of Fugaku Uchiha:

Itachi was a gentle child.

What does that make me?

.

.

Maybe I'm just overthinking this.

Sigh.

**/\/\/\/\/**

I think I have never been more relieved in my entire life than at this moment.

I can crawl.

I can move.

And I can even see further and better than before!

I've been trying to walk for what seems like forever now.

No luck.

My muscles aren't developed enough for that.

You should have seen my parents faces, when they saw me crawling.

Apparently 4 month old babies aren't supposed to crawl as well as I am (or crawl at all).

But it was worth seeing the proud look on my fathers face.

I'm starting to accept my new parents.

Really, Fugaku is home more than my real father ever was in my childhood.

And that's saying something, considering it's wartime.

I'm well aware, that doing what I'm doing right now, could end in a disaster.

Do you know what happens to prodigies in the Uchiha clan?

Neither do I.

And that scares me a little.

I mean, look what happened to Itachi.

Speaking of Itachi.

He can't crawl yet.

Shocking, I know.

But honestly.

Considering he IS a prodigy, he will probably learn it in a week or two.

I think the only reason I'm starting to move this early, is that I have really done this all already in my previous life.

I know how to walk.

I just need to wait for my body to catch up.

My mother told me that I started crawling when I was 7-8 months old.

So If I were really a newborn.

I wouldn't be able to do this.

That's how amazing Itachi is.

But I have decided one thing.

I'll try to become better than Itachi.

If that is even possible.

Because, If they see me as more powerful than him.

Then there is no reason for him to carry the same burden as in Naruto, right?

He doesn't deserve that.

And he's my brother now.

My brother.

And no one is going to take him away from me.

No one.

I'll make sure of that.

**/\/\/\/\/**

I was right.

Itachi started crawling a week after I did.

Genius little brat.

I seriously think it's not possible to stand at 4 months old.

I have tried, but it always end up me crying on the floor, because I got another bruise.

It's getting annoying.

Itachi hasn't even tried.

I think he already know it's impossible and hes laughing at my stupidity.

But I can't really say that.

He always tries to help me up when I fall.

Which must look hilarious to our parents.

Honestly.

Mikoto has tried to get us to play with toys, but I'm not really interested.

Itachi on the other hand has taken a liking to a rubber kunai.

He likes to chew on it.

Sometimes I forget that this Itachi isn't the same, as the one in Naruto.

He may be a prodigy.

But he's still a baby.

He cries.

He laughs.

He pouts.

Just like any other baby his age.

I think I might worry my parents.

I don't show nearly as much emotion on my face as Itachi does.

Don't get me wrong.

Babies can't do poker faces.

They just can't

Uchiha or not.

If something is funny, I laugh.

If something hurts me, I cry.

Because I'm not a teenager.

I'm a baby.

And I keep on forgetting that.

But it's really hard to just start from a whole new page.

Especially if you're supposed to rip off the old ones.

Even if you take them off.

You can still see where they were ripped off.

And if you're unlucky.

You can accidentally rip off an empty page.

If you rip off too much, eventually the whole notebook just falls apart.

So I'm trying to slowly forget my other life and focus on this one.

Because I have a feeling, that If I dwell too much in the past.

It will hinder my process in this one.

And that is unacceptable.

I must protect Itachi.

I must.

******/\/\/\/\/**

At 5 months I was able to stand and take a couple steps, but I wasn't able to walk yet.

My legs were too weak.

And my version of standing wasn't really standing.

More like, get on my legs and flap my arms around and hope I will not fall on my face.

Mikoto would sometimes help me by holding me up and letting me walk baby steps.

Which helped.

A lot.

Itachi was developing his walking skills almost at the exact same rate as I was.

But what really got to me, was that he said his first words before I did.

And what he said.

Made me want to hug him.

Which I did.

Honestly.

It was a sunny and surprisingly peaceful day in the compound and Fugaku was off in a clan meeting, while Mikoto took us outside for the first time.

We were playing in the shade of a huge maple tree and that little runt just said:

"Meumi"

I was honestly so surprised that I just stared at him with wide eyes.

Mikoto was ecstatic.

God dammit Itachi.

Stop developing so fast!

I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up.

**/\/\/\/\/**

I'm now 6 months old.

And I'm ecstatic.

Why?

I can stand on my own and I can walk.

Sure my walking is unsure and slow, but it's better than one month ago.

I'm not completely sure, if Itachi is truly figuring this out all by himself.

Or if he's just copying what I'm doing.

For my sake, I really hope its the latter one.

'Cause he can do the same as I.

And what's adorable, is that every time he succeeds.

He smiles and looks at me with a look in his eyes that asks:

Did I do it right, nee-chan?

Unbelievable.

He's asking me?

Is he truly copying what I'm doing?

Can he do this already and he's just waiting for me to catch up?

That's not possible.

Right?

I'm overthinking again.

I do remember reading somewhere that siblings, especially babies, copy each others movements.

Well

We ARE twins.

So of course he's going to copy me.

Figures.

I also realized one thing.

When one of my parents is reading to us.

I can understand everything they're saying.

No really, I can.

But when they show me the book.

I can't understand anything.

Might have something to do with the fact that is flipping Japanese.

Japanese language is beautiful to look at.

But then I remember I have to one day learn it.

The only reason why I have been able to do things like walking early, is because I knew how it's done.

I have never written or read Japanese before.

Meaning I have no advantage over Itachi when the time comes to learn it.

I'm not a prodigy.

You don't just learn a language in couple months.

Sure it helps that you're a baby.

But I have an adult mind.

Children learn faster than adults, don't they?

Am I an adult in a child body or a child with an adults mind?

I don't know.

I'm not sure about anything anymore.

**/\/\/\/\/**

I finally said my 'first words'.

And I can honestly say, that I'm proud of myself.

It was a rainy day in the evening and Itachi was asleep, when I heard talking from the kitchen.

I quietly climbed off my crib (well, as quietly as a baby can) and slowly walked towards the door of our room.

I thanked the gods it was cracked open a bit so I could easily pull it open.

Otherwise I would have probably been too short.

The doors here are weird.

They _slide_ open.

I think they were called Shoji or something.

Meh

Anyways

I walked the long hallways of our home until I came to the kitchen door.

(I can proudly announce that I can walk without wobbling now.)

"Our defenses are beginning to weaken and in no time I'm sure that Iwakagure is going to notice it too. I don't think the Uchiha clan can help the village more than we already are."

The war was still going on?

"The assassins send to this village are getting bolder and bolder and I fear for safety of our children."

"Dear.."

"No, Mikoto. What If something happens when we're gone? What if the safety measures we have put aren't enough?"

"Have faith in the clan Fugaku. You can not back down now. You are the clan leader. They need you to be strong... _I_ need you to be strong."

I have a feeling I'm not supposed to be listening to this emotional moment, but my body just kind of moved on its own.

I just cracked the corner of the door open and walked in.

Yes, I walked in and cherished the shocked look on my parents face as I walked towards them.

"Megumi-chan! What are you doing out of your crib? Why ar–"

I didn't let her finish when I wrapped my arms around my father.

Don't ask me why I did it.

It just felt right.

"No sad."

Yes, those were my first words.

And I looked up.

Fugaku watched me with a shocked impression.

Wide eyes.

Mouth slightly apart.

It was hilarious.

"No sad."

I repeated.

I think I was trying to say something along the lines of:

Don't be sad, do your best. I believe in you. You being sad makes me sad.

But since that wasn't possible just 'No sad' had to suffice.

Soon enough he composed himself and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his lap.

Wow, he must be really worried to show _this_ much emotion.

"Kaasan?"

Was that Itachi?

I turned my head and saw Itachi standing in the doorway.

Did he follow me?

"Oh, Itachi-chan."

Mikoto walked up to Itachi and picked him up.

"Kaasan?" Itachi repeated.

Mikoto just hugged him tighter.

Our family is an emotional mess right now, isn't it?

"No sad" I repeated once again

"No sad" Fugaku repeated with me.

Yes, we are.

But at least we have each other.

Because that's what family is for.

Right?

* * *

**_Kaasan = Mother_**

**Were you expecting something exciting? Well excuse me. But what exciting could possibly happen in a _baby's_ life? The basically just exist and this story is just getting started. Also for you people who feel that Fugaku is acting OOC, why? I don't think he's acting OOC at all. He's a tired man who wants to keep his family safe. The Fugaku that you saw in Naruto is coming. Just not yet. That happened _after _Kyuubi had attacked Konoha and the Uchiha clan had been blamed for it. Besides, Kishimoto himself said it. Uchihas care for their own.**


	4. Her Only Weakness

Did you know, that Uchihas generally start training their children when they reach the age of four?

But the main house starts training their children a year earlier.

Itachi and I are two years old.

Meaning we only have a year to enjoy our childhood.

After we turned two.

Fugaku started giving us lectures about the clan.

The history, our abilities, our ways and so on.

He made sure to bang it into our heads for good.

I often wondered why he wasn't concerned about us forgetting all this.

We are only two, after all.

Well.

It turns out that the younger you bang these things into our heads, the longer we will remember them.

It's not like he let us forget them anyway.

We have a three hour long lesson everyday after breakfast.

No breaks.

Also.

I think I finally understood, what Fugaku meant, by saying I was a prodigy along with my brother.

The things we have been doing.

The way we learned to walk so fast.

The way we always were on our best behavior, we never yelled or jumped off the walls like normal kids our age.

And even though our voices are still ridiculously childish, we know how to talk formally.

Which is a miracle itself considering our age.

But sweet merciful God if he tells you to remember something.

You freaking better remember it.

Because next day, when he asks you a couple questions concerning the matter you were supposed to study and you answer:

"I don't know."

Let's just say that the more we said 'I don't know'.

The longer the lessons got.

And by the time we were finished.

You wanted nothing but to crawl into your bed.

That's the cruel part.

He wouldn't let us.

Or more like he wouldn't let _me_.

.

.

.

Itachi never seemed tired after the lessons.

Or if he was, then he was doing a really good job hiding it.

It appears that my memory is much better than in my previous life.

When I had still been Jasmin.

My memory had been terrible.

You could tell me something and I could forget it in one minute.

Not here.

I remember everything Fugaku had told us from the top of my head.

I guess education from a young age really does help you build your memory.

I know I wasn't supposed to dwell in the past.

But I can't help but to compare Jasmin to Megumi.

Jasmin had been a teenage girl who had anxiety problems and a weak mind.

She had a weak memory, no motivation for studying and had family issues.

She hadn't wanted to follow society's rules by taking up a career.

She had been imperfect.

She had been _weak_.

Megumi was a child who had learned to walk all by herself.

She has always been polite and quiet for the small time she has lived.

Megumi was an Uchiha.

and Uchihas don't have _weaknesses_.

_Especially_ not the heir, who is supposed to eventually lead the clan.

Megumi is an Uchiha prodigy like her brother.

Jasmin had been a weak girl who was scared of the future.

So if one personality would have to be destroyed in order for the other to flourish.

Jasmin would need to be permanently locked away.

_Annihilated_.

Because Megumi doesn't need anybody to drag her down.

Because Megumi is an Uchiha.

And Uchihas are supposed to be _perfect_.

Megumi will become _perfect_.

Because in this world.

The weaker species get trampled by the strong.

And Megumi wasn't about to get trampled anytime soon.

That was a promise she intended to keep.

Just like the promise she made to herself about her brother.

She will become strong enough to fulfill it.

To protect her brother.

She needs to be strong.

In order to protect him.

She would have to become an Uchiha.

And the thought of that.

Made her tremble with excitement.

Weakness will no longer be tolerated.

**/\/\/\/\/**

Our language lessons have been going well.

I'm actually able to keep up with Itachi.

It's like I'm starting to see him as a rival.

Itachi doesn't quite see it that way though.

Every time I'm able to surpass him in something, he becomes happy for me.

No jealousy in sight.

Every time he surpasses me in something I become jealous instantly.

Itachi doesn't seem to mind that.

Instead of seeing me as pathetic.

He tries to help me.

The first time he tried to help me when he noticed I was struggling, ended with me feebly glaring at him.

He just smiled.

Which made me feel even more pathetic.

I have a feeling that no matter how we age.

He's always going to be the more mature one of us.

Jealousy was a weak emotion.

But I couldn't help it.

I really couldn't.

I have to do something about these emotions.

They're in the way of my process.

How can I even hope to compete with Itachi, if I let my emotions get the best of me?

It can't go on like this.

I can't fall behind.

I need to be strong.

I have to become perfect.

Failure can not be an option.

Because.

What use is a flawed ninja going to be?

**/\/\/\/\/**

As our third birthday neared, I grew more and more restless.

What will he be teaching us?

Will I be good enough?

Is Itachi going to surpass me?

What if he does?

If he becomes more powerful than I.

Then will he be named the heir?

That's unacceptable.

It can not happen.

It will _not_ happen.

I won't let it.

Those tragic events can not be allowed to happen again.

At first, it was because the massacre of the Uchiha clan had too many negative effects on the future.

But now?

Now It's because they're my family.

My precious people.

The only ones who will have my trust.

Because they're _safe_.

Outsiders are not.

They're never safe.

So I have to not only protect Itachi, but myself too.

I don't have to worry about Sasuke.

Itachi will handle him.

He has to.

Sasuke has always been vulnerable to manipulation.

Sasuke has always needed protection.

Sasuke has always needed _Itachi_.

And Itachi will gladly protect his precious little brother.

I don't have to get involved in that relationship.

I don't _want_ to get involved.

Because I will not tolerate that kind of weakness.

And I think.

That if I were to protect Sasuke instead of Itachi.

I would probably let him be killed.

Because.

Sasuke is a burden.

And he will always be, just a burden.

Nothing more.

Nothing less.

So.

Itachi has to protect him.

He has to.

Because I can't do that.

I refuse to get close to anything or anybody who remind me of my previous self.

And when Sasuke is born.

He will never be my brother.

And if he hurts Itachi.

I'll kill him.

**/\/\/\/\/**

We are three years old.

The training will begin.

And I don't think I have ever felt more insecure in my life.

I do my best not to show any of it.

I really hope it's working.

We had just finished our breakfast an hour ago and now we're following our father to the Uchiha training grounds.

On our way there, I got to explore this part of the Uchiha compound with my eyes.

It was pretty ordinary, just like the other side of the compound.

Some people who had seen us, had bowed a little and then went on with their daily routines.

There weren't that many Uchihas in the compound at the moment.

The war was still going on and many of the Uchihas had been sent on the battlefield for help.

I notice that that the training area wasn't really all that different from the ones outside the compound.

It was also surrounded by a forest, although I think this one had something special about it.

And I was proved right when Fugaku started to speak just moments later.

"This training ground is used specifically for kunai throwing practices. You saw the different marks all around the forest? You're supposed to get to the end of the forest without stopping even once and try to hit as many marks as you can. Of course this will prove to be quite difficult because of the traps laid out."

Well that's just fine and dandy.

We are going to get killed on our first training lesson.

Hone–

"However, your bodies aren't trained enough for this. So we'll start with basic kunai throwing techniques."

I honestly hope the relief that I felt at the moment didn't show on me face.

From there on he showed us how to hold a kunai and the correct throwing position.

Itachi was a little faster than me in this.

So Fugaku told him to throw the kunai first.

He did.

And it hit the second ring next to the bullseye.

My god.

That is not possible.

It ju–

"Megumi, you next."

At this point I wasn't able to hide my nervousness.

I hesitated a bit before going to the spot where Itachi had been and took my position.

I glanced at my father for acknowledgment that I was doing this right, but his face betrayed nothing.

Well fuck.

I'm going to mess this up.

I took a kunai out of my leg holster and held it at the throwing position.

You can not mess this up.

Weakness will not be tolerated.

And your father is watching.

Show him you're better than your brother.

Show him you are a worthy of being the heir.

Something inside me just clicked and I threw the kunai without a moment of hesitation.

I was honestly waiting for failure.

Isn't third times the charm?

When I lifted my head, I saw my kunai in the third ring.

Did I just–

I'm not a–

"I'm impressed with the two of you. Most Children who try this for the first time do not even hit the inner circle(which consisted of the first three rings counting from the middle) You two will grow up to be fantastic ninjas."

He didn't show any emotion on his face when he saw this and I glanced at Itachi.

The second I looked at him.

I saw him staring at me.

With an odd look in his eyes.

Almost like he was saying:

See that wasn't so bad, you did good.

.

.

.

Did he by any change notice my earlier nervousness?

I think he did.

Shit.

Wel–

"Since both of you have already done so well the first time, I will expect you to be able to hit the main mark by the end of this day."

What?

He's not serious, is he?

I think he is.

And what's worse.

Is that he looked straight at me when he said the 'expect to' part.

It was in that moment, that Itachi was completely ignored and there were only Fugaku and me.

He was expecting me to surpass Itachi.

The simple fact that he thought I could do it.

Made me happier than the words can describe.

And any insecurities that I may have had.

Disappeared.

"Of course, Otousan."

**/\/\/\/\/**

The rest of the day was spent in the Uchiha training grounds, practicing our throwing techniques.

I was surprised when Itachi didn't get it right away, considering how close he hit to the bullseye the first time he tried.

He hit outside the inner circle a couple times.

But nothing so drastic it would strip him the title of prodigy.

And as the day went on.

He could perfectly hit the bullseye by noon.

I however could not.

It made me as frustrated as hell.

And I think the frustration showed on my face, because Itachi offered to help me.

I however wasn't able to swallow my pride and snapped at him.

"Why, so you can show me how much better you are than me!? I don't think so, I'm going to perfect this by myself!"

I had been able to keep my kunais hitting the second and the third circle, but not the bullseye.

I was so close, yet so far away from his talent, it hurt.

My emotions were probably on my face for the whole world to see.

Itachi had a concerned look in his eyes as he watched me.

"I just wa–"

"It's fine! Just leave!"

I saw hurt cross his face, but I was just too frustrated to care.

He stared at me with an unexplained emotion on his face before turning his back on me and walking away.

I instantly felt regret and guilt.

He had only wanted to help me.

And what had I done?

I had bitten a helping hand.

Why the hell had I done that?

Do I really have that much pride?

I almost wanted to run after him.

But what stopped me?

My pride.

I will complete this technique by myself and after that, I can proudly walk back to my father and say I did it.

Then, I will apologize to Itachi.

And I continued my training.

**/\/\/\/\/**

I watched the kunai I had just thrown.

It was sticking from the bullseye.

I was sweating a bit as a brilliant smile stood on my face.

I had done it.

I had really done it!

The sun was slowly retreating behind the horizon, coloring the trees with brilliant orange.

I felt really tired and wanted nothing more than just to fall backwards and go to sleep.

But I can't do that.

I have to inform father I had done it.

So he can see I'm just as good as Itachi.

That I'm not a burden.

That I can be strong.

These were my thoughts as I stumbled through the compound, trying to get to the main house as fast as possible.

When I saw the small stone steps that lead to our house I quickly jogged them and slid the door open.

I stumbled to the kitchen where Mikoto was just starting to clean up the plates.

I saw that my food was still untouched.

"Ah, Megumi-chan! I wondered when you were going to finish your training."

I turned my head and saw my mother smiling at me with those kind dark eyes.

"You're finished then?"

I felt dread in my stomach when I heard my fathers voice.

Aren't I supposed to be happy that I completed the task in time?

"Yes, Otousan."

"Itachi came back before you."

I really fought not to flinch at that.

"Yes, he managed to complete the task before me, but even though it took me longer, I still completed the task given to me in time."

My father was silent at that.

He just stared at me with a scrutinizing gaze.

I was starting to become more and more nervous the longer I stared at him.

"Indeed you did."

My mother decided to interrupt us at that moment.

"Megumi-chan, you look like you're about to collapse. Take a bath and get some rest, alright? I'll bring your food to your room."

I just nodded and turned to leave, glad to get out of the presence of my father.

Don't get me wrong.

I love him, but I always get so overly formal with him.

And I just for some reason want to please him.

He expected me to come home before Itachi.

I failed to do that.

I felt like a complete disappointment and the joy that I had felt at the training grounds, was slowly disappearing.

As I walked the long hallway that lead to the bathroom I thought of Itachi.

Is he still upset?

I wonder if he's ever going to help me again.

In the end, I always lash out when he only wants to help me.

All these negative emotions kept on making me more and more depressed.

I slid the bathroom door open and locked it from inside.

I walked in front of whole body mirror.

I stared long and hard at my own reflection before turning away.

Still just a burden.

**/\/\/\/\/**

I dressed in my small bathing robe and dried my still wet hair before unlocking the door and stepping out.

I walked the long hall in silence.

I could only hear my own footsteps.

I should really apologize to Itachi soon.

Fortunately, I wouldn't have to search for him.

We still shared the same room and I knew he would be there.

I stopped in front of the door that led to our room.

I took a deep breath and slid it open.

And what I saw, shocked me.

There was Itachi, eyeing the books in the bookshelf when he noticed me walk in.

He smiled and said:

"Welcome back, Oneechan."

Did he just–

No way.

He can't be that mature.

"Itachi I'm–"

"It's alright."

"Eh?"

He couldn't have just forgiven me that fast!

I saw the hurt on his face!

"You wanted to prove yourself, I understand."

He can't just–

"I shouldn't have offered my help when you clearly wanted to do it yourself."

Why is he still smiling..?

Why...

"So its–"

"No it's not!"

Itachi just stared at me with slightly widened eyes.

"I saw the hurt on your face! Why do you hide behind that smile!?"

Itachi went to say something, but I quickly interrupted him.

"Don't you dare say it's alright."

"Because..."

.

.

.

"Hurting you is never going to be alright."

There was a thick silence in the room after that.

I just stared at the tatami mats on the floor.

"I forgive you."

Unable to say anything, I just hugged him after that.

Weakness will not be tolerated.

But

.

.

.

I think I can allow it when Itachi is involved.

Because.

.

.

.

Itachi is my very own weakness.

* * *

**Otousan = a polite way of saying father**

**Oneechan = a polite way of saying Older sister**

**This chapter took so long because of lack of inspiration and school. And also I'm pretty sure there are going to be people out there who think 'a three year old can't bath by herself'. Well, I think that if they're mature enough to be throwing such dangerous objects at targets, then they are going to be mature enough to bath by themselves without drowning, don't you think? Also about Itachi being so mature while still three. I always pictured Itachi as a people pleaser. While he has his own opinion and stands by them, he is still polite to others and respects them. If his sibling asks him to do her/him a favor, then I think he is most likely to do it. Also, I can't picture Itachi as the kind of man who holds grudges very easily. Hell, I don't think he even held that much of a grudge against Danzo despite of what happened, because in the end, it prevented a war from happening.**


	5. a Furry Tangle

Do you have any idea how hard hand-to-hand combat is?

No you don't.

It's not simply throwing your fists around and dodging to wherever you feel like.

It's like dancing.

You have to carefully estimate each step you take or you'll mess up.

Someday your life may be on the line.

And even one misstep can be fatal.

Your opponent can use any failure you make, to his advantage.

a Poorly aimed punch?

He can grab your wrist, pull you towards him and kick you in the stomach, making you unable to breathe.

He could grab your arm and twist a knife into you, while you aren't balanced.

There are so many possibilities what could happen, that I'd rather not list all of them.

So when we started our Taijutsu training.

Father made sure to drill this into our heads for good.

It's also very important to get the stance right.

Before the fight, you adapt a certain stance, which is supposed to protect you from enemy attacks.

So even if you don't see your enemy move, you have at least covered up your vulnerable spots.

More experienced ninjas don't always have to go into a stance, to protect themselves from enemies.

Sometimes they might just casually stand in the middle of the battlefield, waiting for the enemy to attack.

They have created their own Taijutsu styles and know how to use them to the fullest.

So when it's Genin versus Jounin, the Genin usually mistakes this as inexperience and tries to attack, usually because of arrogance, head on.

This gives the Jounin an advantage, because his opponent has already underestimated him.

Giving him the element of surprise.

Never underestimate your opponent, was the second lesson father taught to us.

No matter how innocent they might look.

The third one was about arrogance.

There is a fine line between being confident in your abilities and being straight arrogant.

In fact, you should be confident in your abilities.

If you hesitate because you're not sure, it might lead to your demise.

Every second counts.

You can also take advantage of an arrogant opponent.

Even a simple Genin can beat an arrogant Jounin.

When you're arrogant, you tend to let your guard down.

Which in a battle is never acceptable.

You can not let other noises distract you while fighting.

It is good that you're aware of your surroundings, but keep your eyes on your opponent.

_Punch_

_Block_

_Block_

_Kick_

_Punch_

_Block_

"Megumi, keep yourself more balanced. Itachi, put more force into your attacks."

I acknowledged my father by blocking Itachi's rather weak punch and using both of my legs to spring away from him, landing perfectly a couple meters away.

I used these couple seconds to catch my breath, right before Itachi attacked me again.

And this time, he didn't hold back his punches.

I actually winced, when his knuckles managed to graze my cheek.

I swiftly delivered a kick to Itachi's stomach and planned to jump away from him again.

But Itachi quickly grabbed my leg and drew his hand back to punch me.

I had left myself vulnerable to an attack.

I gasped as I felt Itachi's knuckles bruise my cheek.

However, before Itachi could retreat his hand, I grabbed it and pulled him towards me.

Before Itachi could realize what I was doing, I drew my knee back and hit him in the stomach.

His eyes widened as he tried to gasp for breath.

I quickly jumped away before he could recover and was just about to attack him again when father interrupted us.

"Megumi, Itachi, enough."

I instantly lowered my guard and stared at my father.

I glanced from my father to Itachi and saw him get up from the ground holding his stomach.

I suddenly gasped in pain as the adrenaline left my body and I could feel my cheek bruise, from where Itachi had punched me.

My hand flew to my cheek and I flinched.

"Itachi, no matter who your opponent is, you musn't hold back your attacks. And Megumi, jumping away from your opponent isn't always going to be an option. You must think of a better way to dodge Itachi's attacks, if retreating isn't an option."

I almost frowned at father's advice.

I knew this already, but I would much rather dodge by jumping away, rather than actually block Itachi's punches and kicks by my bare hands.

Because when he isn't holding back.

Blocking them actually hurts.

The palms of my hands are already red from all that blocking.

And then I remember that Itachi is always going to have stronger punches than me.

Shinobi most of the time are stronger than Kunoichi in Taijutsu.

And notice, that I said stronger.

Not better.

There are many Kunoichi who are more talented than Shinobi in Taijutsu.

But Shinobi are able to use their muscle mass to their advantage.

But the good thing is, that Kunoichi are more agile than Shinobi.

So most of the time it's really difficult to land a hit.

And besides, you can always use chakra to enhance your attacks.

Tsunade is a pretty good example of a terrifying Taijutsu opponent.

When I came out of my thoughts, I saw father staring at me.

"Itachi, you can leave."

He didn't even glance at Itachi when he said this.

I glanced apologetically at my brother.

He just smiled at me before nodding to father and leaving the training grounds with a slight limp.

This wasn't anything new to either of us.

He would often train both of us in the morning for a couple hours and then send Itachi back to the compound, so he could continue training with me.

Neither of us had any say in this.

At first I had protested.

But the glare father sent me, had been more than enough to shut me up.

It's the same thing, when we study under father's watchful eye after breakfast.

He just sometimes sends Itachi away, to educate me about the responsibilities of the heiress.

Why?

Because Itachi doesn't need to know these things.

In fact, Itachi can do many things, that I can't.

He can laugh out loud in the dinner table, I can't.

If I do, I usually end up getting a warning glare from my father.

Itachi can play with the other Uchiha children, I can't.

Although, I wouldn't really call it playing.

More like, competing who's the fastest or the strongest and so on.

And of course, Itachi usually wins the challenges.

When I tried to go, Fugaku said I had better things to do than play childish ninja games with children.

He said this, as if I wasn't a child myself.

And technically, I wasn't.

But he didn't know that.

This was something else entirely.

He expected a lot more from me than Itachi.

Even if Itachi most of the time surpassed me.

This only made him more determined to train me harder.

Our Taijutsu matches usually ended up with Itachi as the winner or in a tie.

There were few instances where I had won.

But the Taijutsu he taught us, wasn't the one they teach you in the academy.

Uchiha clan has their own Taijutsu entirely.

Its supposed to be a style, where you deliver heavy hits and it's basically on the offensive side.

It suited Itachi more than it suited me.

But even he had a hard time being on the offensive all the time.

And sometimes he forgets to put enough force behind his attacks.

You don't really stay in one place for long, you are supposed to constantly attack your opponent.

But apparently we are supposed to create our own Taijutsu, with the Uchiha clan style as our basis.

But since that wasn't happening anytime soon, we had to master the Uchiha style as soon as possible.

There was also the reason that we were only a little over four years old.

Our bodies can't handle too much strain.

Father told us, that it's a lot easier to use this style as an adult, when your body gets used to it as a child.

When father was busy, mother would train us instead.

She didn't push us as much as father did.

But she was strict and she wasn't afraid to bruise us a little.

a Little pain is good she says.

It builds up your pain tolerance.

You must be able to fight, even if somebody does bruise you badly.

Hell, there are ninjas out there who fought with only one arm.

That must be excruciating.

With a sigh, I cleared my thoughts, took my stance and waited for my father to pound me to the ground.

**/\/\/\/\/**

"Stop poking it!"

"Stop moving around so much, Onee-chan. I can't do this properly if you do."

"I can do this by myself!"

"Every time you try to move, you wince. I do not believe a word you're saying."

I could only pout and watch, as Itachi put soothing salve on my injured wrist, right before bandaging it.

I suddenly gasped in pain, as he poked a rather tender looking bruise on my left shoulder.

Itachi sighed and dipped his fingers into the salve and rubbed it onto the bruise.

I tried really hard not to bite my lower lip, but it proved to be futile.

It was either that or gasping in pain all the time.

My training with father had ended rather painfully.

It had been simple Taijutsu all the way through, nothing too challenging.

That is until I jumped backwards, into the air, to get away from his assaults.

I completely forgot the part where he had told me not to evade all attacks by simply jumping away.

He, apparently, wanted to teach me a lesson, for not listening to his advice.

So while in the air, I was completely defenseless to his painful kick to the stomach.

Which, by the way, send my spiraling to the ground with enough force, to bruise the whole left side of my body.

Not to mention I landed awkwardly on my wrist.

He just stared at me with those eyes that said:

"Told you so"

I didn't even have the strength to glare at him, I could only groan in pain.

After a couple minutes of groaning in pain on the ground, he told me to get up.

And we walked back to the compound, with an occasional pained gasp here and there.

Mother had scolded father for doing such damage to me.

But father had just glanced at me with stern eyes and left the room.

Sometimes I wonder if this is even the same person who had taken care of me as a baby.

But then I remember there's a war going on.

Maybe he just pushes us so hard because he doesn't want us to get hurt?

.

.

.

That's the most hypocritical thing I have ever heard.

"OUCH!"

"Sorry."

"Will you stop smirking!?"

Itachi's smile soon faded into a frown as he stared at my bandaged body.

"I wish he would go easier on you."

His statement completely caught me off guard.

I just lowered my gaze to the floor without answering him.

"I don't like seeing you this way."

I didn't lift my head, but his concerned tone made me smile.

"It's okay"

I soon lifted my head and smirked.

"Although your concern is greatly appreciated, Otouto-chan."

And I poked his forehead.

Itachi just stared at me with wide eyes, trying to figure out what just happened.

I couldn't help it.

I burst out laughing at his dumbfounded expression.

When Itachi finally realized I was truly laughing, he allowed a relaxed smile to fall onto his lips.

It felt good to be able to laugh freely without being at the end of my fathers glares.

And in that moment.

Everything was alright.

**/\/\/\/\/**

"I'm pregnant."

And that's how my world came crushing down.

I almost dropped the rice that was between the chopstick I was holding.

I just stared at my mother with wide eyes.

When the hell did this happen?

I know she's supposed to have Sasuke at some point, but this soon?

"We don't know if it's a girl or a boy."

My head was spinning.

Why now?

"But you're going to have a younger sibling soon."

Mikoto explained to us, smiling.

I glanced at father and saw him calmly eating his food.

I can throw a wild guess and say Mikoto told him beforehand.

Ripping my gaze away from him, I glanced at Itachi.

Itachi had a controlled expression on his face, knowing how much his father didn't like it, when you showed too much emotion on your face.

But you could clearly see he was happy to have a younger sibling.

I felt oddly empty as I silently finished my breakfast and excused myself from the breakfast table.

I could feel the concerned gaze of my mother and the confused gaze of my brother on my back as I slid the door open and continued to walk out of the house.

**/\/\/\/\/**

I was sitting under the huge maple tree, where Itachi had said his first words, just mulling things over.

My knees were drawn to my chest, as I rested my head on top of my arms.

Sasuke.

Why the hell does he even need to be born.

He's not important.

When he's born, Itachi is going to shift all of his attention to his younger brother.

I basically spit the word out of my mouth as if it was acid.

He's going to steal _my_ younger brother from me.

He's going to take him away.

He's going to cause him pain.

I hate him.

I hate him and he's not even born yet.

I sighed as I buried my head between my knees.

I could feel my eyelids slowly drop as I yawned.

I stretched my arms and rested against the tree.

a Little nap couldn't possibly hurt anybody, right?

I let my eyes close and I sighed.

.

.

.

_Meow_

... What?

I opened my right eye and stared at the silver furred cat in front of me.

I eventually opened both of my eyes and had a little staring contest with the long haired cat.

She(or he, I don't really know)seemed determined to keep me from sleeping.

I sighed in irritation.

"What do you want?"

... Did I really just ask that?

The cat just stared at me without saying anything.

Well of course it's not going to say anything.

I eventually grew bored with our little staring contest and tried to get some sleep.

And I almost succeeded.

That is.

Until the cat decided to bite my hand.

"AH! What the hell is your problem!?"

And in no time at all, I was up on my feet and making threatening steps towards the little bastard.

The darn thing just meowed and jumped away from me.

I took a couple hasty steps forward and saw the cat staring at me again with those eerie looking eyes.

Those eyes stared at me like they knew something I didn't.

It annoyed me to no end.

The cat meowed one last time, before running in the opposite direction.

Oh hell no, this pussycat isn't going to get away that easily.

I ran after the silver cat and ignored the confused stares I was getting from the various Uchiha clan members.

I soon noticed that we were in the empty part of the compound.

I didn't even know there was a place like this.

_Meow_

I turned my head to the left and saw the cat sitting in front of these rusty stairs.

There you are.

I approached the cat, thinking it was cornered.

There is no way it's going to go do–

And then it jumped down the stairs.

_God frigging da_–

I huffed and walked towards the old looking stairs.

I peeked down and saw that although they were a bit rusty, they could still probably hold me if I was careful.

So with a stubborn look on my face, I started to slowly descend the stairs.

In the middle of the stairs they creaked rather dangerously and I held my breath.

Fortunately, they didn't collapse.

I hastily made my way down the rest of the stairs and sighed in relief.

Now where the hell is that little devil spawn.

I looked around and realized I was underground.

There was this one huge hallway, that seemed to go on forever.

Why is there a place like this in the first place?

Thinking that since I was still inside the compound, I was allowed to wander off a bit.

And quite honestly.

I was curious.

I mean, what's the worst that could happen?

So with the cat completely forgotten, I made my way forward.

On my way I heard all kinds of sounds.

There was a dripping sound, that came from a broken water pipe.

I even heard and, unfortunately felt, the wind, as I rubbed my arms up and down, to bring me some warmth.

_Meow_

And I heard cats, everywhere.

I felt like I was being watched from all angles.

It made me uncomfortable.

I started questioning my decision.

Is this really wise?

It was getting darker and darker too.

I could hardly see where I was going, but luckily for me, I could still somewhat see the walls.

So at least I'm not walking into them.

I don't think my pride could handle that.

Suddenly, the slight breeze that I had felt, was gone.

I could see light at the end of the tunnel.

There was a door.

I halted in my steps and hesitated.

Was it too late to turn back?

I mean, I guess I still cou–

_Meow_

I almost fell backward, when I saw the glowing eyes of a cat before me.

It was still dark, so I couldn't tell, if this was the same silver cat from before.

Those glowing yellow eyes made me nervous just by looking at them.

_Meow_

I quickly lifted my head upwards and saw something that made me shiver.

Glowing yellow eyes everywhere.

Staring at me.

I took a clumsy step backwards.

Maybe this hadn't the wisest idea after all.

The cat hissed as soon as it saw me ready to bolt away.

It ran towards me and bounced.

I hastily covered my face with my arms and waited for the pain.

However, it never came.

I lowered my arms and hesitantly opened my eyes.

I turned around and saw the cat behind me.

Did it seriously think that would be enough to stop me from leaving?

I tried to bypass the cat from the left, but it just hissed at me and swiped at me with its, may I add sharp, claws.

I jumped back and almost fell down.

I must look really pathetic right now.

Does it want me to enter the room?

Why?

What is so important?

I nervously turned around and hastily walked towards the door.

As soon as I touched the doorknob, I hesitated.

I, however, didn't get a chance to open the door, when I heard a voice inside.

"Please, do come in."

I pulled my hand away form the doorknob and stared at the door, as if I could see right through it.

It sounded like an elderly woman's voice.

She sounded, impatient?

Not exactly nice, but not bad either.

I finally gathered enough courage, to turn the doorknob and open the door.

What I saw, baffled me.

There was this old woman, sitting in the center of the room, surrounded by cats.

And she had cat ears on her head.

What?

I felt the door behind me close and I jumped a bit.

"Oh for god's sake, stop being so jumpy."

I eyed her suspiciously and looked at her again, more closely this time.

She had a pipe in her hand and she was dressed in a long sleeved, orange shirt.

She also had a thick scarf around her neck and these blue baggy pants.

The room itself felt warm and comfortable.

Once I saw the bed, I knew she lived here.

She clearly isn't an Uchiha.

So what is she doing here?

What caught my eye, was the cat, that was lying on the bed.

It was the exact same cat, that I had chased.

"I see you already noticed our little Aiko-chan here."

Aiko-chan?

Love child?

Oh, give me a break.

"You aren't exactly what I had expected."

She puffed some smoke from her mouth, as she said this.

"What?"

Was the most intelligible answer I could muster at the moment.

She just huffed and stroked a white cat, that slept on her lap.

I heard her mutter something under her breath, but I couldn't tell what it was.

"Tell me, how is your father."

Why did she want to know?

I eyed her for a little longer before answering.

"He's good."

"Will you stop looking me like I'm going to scratch you at any second."

She seemed annoyed.

I was just confused.

"Who are you?"

She stopped smoking for a while and paused in stroking the cat.

After a heavy silence she answered me.

"You may call me, Neko-baachan."

Granny cat?

How fitting.

"I'm–"

"I know who you are."

This took me by surprise.

How could she possibly know who I am?

"I got tired of waiting for your father to bring you here himself, so I took care of it."

So then this all was just a–

.

.

.

I felt ashamed of how I had lost control of myself so easily.

How stupid can you get?

Stupid, Stupid, Stu–

"AUCH!"

I clutched my forehead and glared at the crazy woman.

"What the hell was that for!?"

I glanced down to see what she had thrown at me.

Catnip?

Seriously?

"You weren't listening to me."

I felt annoyance slip into my expression.

"Why you–"

"Hello"

I blinked and turned my head.

There was a brown cat, wearing this blue shirt, sitting on top of a table to my left.

I just stared at it.

_Stare_

_Stare_

_Stare_

Did... Did that thing just talk to me?

Could this whole situation get anymore illogical?

I'm sure I look priceless right now.

And my thoughts were confirmed, when I heard the old woman snicker.

I just kept on staring at the cat, until I finally uttered some words from my mouth.

"Hello..?"

It sounded more like a question than a greeting, though.

I think it's smiling at me.

"My name is Denka, it is nice to meet the honored daughter of Uchiha Fugaku-sama."

Honored daughter?

I slowly turned my head to glance at the Cat Lady.

She was smirking.

I felt something push against my leg.

I looked down and saw a very light brown colored cat, wearing a pinkish shirt.

"Hina at your service, Megumi-sama."

It purred while trying to open the catnip bottle.

I blinked.

Once.

Twice.

I wasn't used to people giving me this much respect.

Especially not from a cat.

Came as a surprise, really.

This whole situation did.

Wait.

"You said you got tired of waiting for my father to bring me here? What do you mean?"

She just sighed and smoked the pipe.

"I told your father I'd like to see you and your brother when you turn four, but he seems to think I will be bad influence on you."

She huffed in annoyance.

I blinked.

She rolled her eyes and explained further.

"At first I asked to see only little Itachi, he seemed reluctant, but not disagreeing. However, when I asked for him to bring you to visit me, he sternly told me you had better things to do than collect paw prints for this old lady."

"Paw prints?"

"a Hobby."

I just 'Ahhed' and went silent.

"Honestly, sometimes that man is just too uptight for his own good."

I couldn't help but to nod my head at her statement.

I knew very well what she meant.

I wasn't allowed to be a child.

I have too many responsibilities.

Or more like _will_ have.

Most of my free time is spent reading history books or theories about weapon throwing.

It's not that I disliked it.

No.

But sometimes it just gets a little tiring.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did, but go ahead."

"You're not an Uchiha. So, what are you doing here?"

"Considering you are really asking me that question, I take it that he never even mentioned me?"

"Not really."

She really gets annoyed easily...

"I sell weapons and scrolls to the Uchiha clan, as well as borrow my cats as messengers."

That hardly seems like a good enough reason to live _this_ close to the Uchihas.

Why don't the Uchihas just buy their ninja supplies, from the various shops around the village?

I voiced my question with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh they do. But I sell equipment that are made specifically for the Uchihas. Not to mention my weapons are always in top condition."

"...Specifically for Uchihas?"

"Well maybe not completely for the Uchihas, but they can use them better than anybody else. It's not a surprise really, considering they invented many of the Shurikenjutsus. As for the reason why I'm here, you don't need to know."

I swear I felt my eye twitch at her nonchalant tone.

I suddenly grimaced.

... How long has it been since I left the house?

Shit.

I felt something head towards me and clumsily dodged to the right.

Another catnip bottle.

I pointed a finger in the Granny's direction and took a step forward.

"Why do you keep on doing that!? Where the hell do you even keep those!?"

This time I wasn't able to dodge fast enough and a cat toy hit me straight in the face.

I just stared at her with a dumbfounded expression.

"Watch your language around me, little kitten. I'm sure your parents wouldn't be pleased either, to hear you swear like a sailor. Control yourself."

I said that out loud?

Once I got out of my daze, I was about to give her a piece of my mind, but thought against it.

Instead, I hurried to the door and decided it was time for me to go back.

"I have to go! My parents must be worried so–"

"You don't have to go anywhere."

Huh?

I stared at her with a confused expression and almost started explaining to her how important this was.

But she beat me to it.

"Your father already know you're here."

And the second she said that, I felt an intimidating aura come from behind the door.

I didn't turn around, but I heard him open the door.

And when he started talking.

I knew he was more than just a little annoyed.

"Ah Nekobaa, I do hope you have a plausible reason, as to why you have made my heir miss her afternoon training?"

I didn't even have the courage to swear inside my head.

* * *

**Truly sorry for the wait. But I don't think I'll be able to update for a while after this chapter. My family and I are moving within two weeks into a new apartment, not to mention the next two weeks are going to be busy because of exams. But if I'll be able to update a new chapter earlier, then I will. But know that I will not abandon this story. Truly sorry if this chapter seems a bit rushed, but I wanted to update this as soon as possible. Also I'm well aware that Nekobaa did not in fact life in Konoha. She lived in an abandoned city, but I really needed something to spice up the story. Until next time.**


	6. Author's Note

**Terribly sorry for the people who thought this was a new chapter, but I have some negative news.**

**We have moved to our new apartment now and we have internet connection and all, but I have a major writers block right now.**

**I am not quitting this story but until I can make the new chapter at least 5,000 words long, I'm not updating it.**

**So it might take a bit longer than expected for me to update.**

**Again, my apologies.**

_**This author's note will be deleted when I update the next chapter.**_


End file.
